Irish Focus: Charity begins in the boardroom

Irelands top business people are known for their support of good causes. But what motivates their generosity, ask Tom McEnaney and Ruth OCallaghan

Nobby O’Reilly put down his pint and turned to the 350 property developers and business figures assembled in a bar in the foothills of the Dublin mountains. The managing director of Pierse Consulting, one of the country’s most successful civil engineering firms, is well used to the business of digging, but this time he was delving deep into his own pockets to support a project to build hundreds of houses in a South African township.

Interrupting a troupe of Irish dancers more used to entertaining tourists than business people, O’Reilly announced he would spend €20,000 sponsoring two houses if Paddy Kelly and his wife Maureen would “favour the party” with a jig. Those familiar with the Kellys, whose property developments are estimated to be worth close to €1 billion, know the couple needs little encouragement when it comes to displaying fancy footwork on the dance floor.